1H NMR spectra of the 2-trifluoroacetyl derivatives of benzo[b]furan and benzo[b]thiophene

The ¹H NMR spectra of the 2-trifluoroacetyl derivatives of benzo[b]furan and benzo[b]thiophene were recorded at 200MHz in two solvents, chloroform and acetone. A long-range coupling constant, 5J(HF), between the fluorine nuclei of the trifluoroacetyl group and H-3, of a value higher than 1 Hz, was measured. From the comparison of the ¹H chemical shifts of, and the solvent effects on, the trifluoroacetyl compounds and those of the corresponding 2-acetyl derivatives, and on the basis of an empirical interpretation of the ⁵J(HF) coupling constant, a predominant Z conformation was tentatively assigned to these derivatives.